Midsummer Goes to the Beach: ThinkTank Reimagines Shakespeare for Tampa Bay
ThinkTank Theatre turns Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into a Florida beach comedy — a magical, modern take opening Nov. 5–16 at Tampa’s JCC on the Cohn Campus.
By Avery Anderson | The Arts Passport
Every few years, a theatre company somewhere asks the same mischievous question: what if A Midsummer Night’s Dream didn’t take place in a forest?
In Tampa, the answer comes with sunscreen.
At ThinkTank Theatre, Shakespeare’s most famous comedy — a swirl of love triangles, mistaken identities, and fairy mischief — unfolds in a beach resort. The fairies? Part of the summer entertainment lineup. The mechanicals? Resort staff trying (and failing) to stage a play. Oberon? The bartender. Puck? His barback.
“We both loved the beach resort idea,” says Georgia Mallory Guy, ThinkTank’s producing artistic director and the show’s director. “What if Oberon is the bartender and Puck his barback? What if Titania and her fairies are the summer entertainment series? What if Hippolyta is having to sell her Amazon Resort and Spa to Theseus’ Athenian Beach Club? The ideas came rolling out.”
A Familiar Story, Told in a Familiar Place
Running November 5–16 at the JCC on the Cohn Campus, this production opens ThinkTank’s 25/26 season.
The setting, Guy says, grew out of both necessity and imagination. “The space at the JCC is pretty intimate, and it's a completely found space,” she explains. “So in talking with my set designer, Keith Eisenstadt, we both knew it needed to be something that would be imaginative within the confines of the space, familiar (since it would be so intimate), and still allow all the magic and farce of the play to come through.”
“It’s down to earth yet heightened, in your face and full of life and laughs,” she adds.
No Degree in Shakespeare Required
If you’ve ever sat through Shakespeare and felt lost in the language, this Midsummer might change your mind.
“We’re setting the play in a world of today — costumes, props, and set items that look familiar to today's vacationing or beach lifestyle rather than Elizabethan costuming,” Guy says. “I’ve encouraged the actors to make the dialogue feel like we would hear someone talk today. It doesn’t take away from the action or driving force — the rhythm and prose are still there — but it lessens that preciousness around the language so it feels more familiar.”
Her goal is to make Shakespeare click for audiences who may think it’s not their “cup of tea.” “When you notice yourself really understanding Shakespeare,” she says, “you just feel smart.”
Building a Theatre That Reflects Its Audience
The cast combines professional actors, new faces, and members of ThinkTank’s Young Artists’ Ensemble, the company’s internship and mentorship program for high school students.
“For our professionals, once we alleviate them of having to feel like a mentor to young artists, they actually become a better mentor,” Guy says. “For our interns, some don’t have high school theatre programs, others love theirs so much they want the next level. So they come in ready to tackle the process. It’s just one of those special magic blends.”
That blend reflects ThinkTank’s broader mission: to make professional theatre accessible to families, teens, and first-timers alike.
“Within that family-accessibility is an aim towards teens and young adults,” Guy explains. “We look for plays that provide that conversation between generations and hierarchies — parent/child, teacher/student. Midsummer certainly provides that.”
A Season of Curiosity
The company’s fall slot traditionally centers on literature — plays that students might read in school. For Guy, Midsummer fits that bill while setting the tone for what’s ahead.
“Fall is where we focus our aims towards literature,” she says. “Winter is our Female Forward Initiative, and our Boozy Broadway and Annual TYA PlayFest are staples. At the forefront, we're a true Think Tank in how we approach theatre — its opportunities, reflection of our community, and showcasing its relevance for the upcoming generation of theatre supporters.”
And in this case, that reflection looks a lot like home — warm, funny, and just a little bit sandy.
If You Go
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
JCC on the Cohn Campus, 13009 Community Campus Dr., Tampa
November 5–16, 2025
$20–30 | thinktanktya.org/midsummer